Some may think that digital traps are unnecessary for mouse control, but in order to challenge that perspective, we will look further into how digitalization can benefit mouse control. Before digging into why you as a PCO should consider choosing digital traps for mouse control, let us first focus on where mice prefer to hide and the techniques for trapping them.
In the search of a warm place
Citing Bobby Corrigan, a consultant, and expert in urban rodent control:
“Biologically speaking, many people think mice are just animals that act by instinct, that’s completely not true. These animals think, they plan. They learn from mistakes. They’re incredibly adaptive to many different situations.”
It was recognizing the intelligent mind of the house mouse that led to Corrigan always asking the same first question when working a mouse control job. “When I go looking for mice inside schools and office buildings and restaurants and houses, the first question that comes to my mind is, ‘Where is the warmth in this building?’.
Throughout his years of experience in the field, Corrigan learned that house mice love warmth, and their intelligent survival instincts mean they often seek a warm place to live and reproduce before they begin the hunt for food. So instead of looking for mouse droppings or small, tight places first, PCOs should think like a mouse and search for the warm place an infestation of mice is likely to inhabit first in order to find and control the mice quickly and effectively. Besides looking out for mice in warm areas, what else do you need to know about mouse trapping? Get to know more in the following section.
Techniques for mouse trapping
Location is key. If you want to catch mice, you need to monitor the areas in which they prefer to be. Look out for sheltered, warm, and quiet places with food close by. Regarding setting up traps, you should try concentrating mouse traps where you suspect mouse activity. Here are a few rules of thumb:
1) Place many traps in areas of high activity.
2) Place traps between the mouse nest and the suspected food source.
3) Mice will spend the majority of their time in one place, typically this is where they leave droppings.
Very importantly, always remember to use many traps and overestimate the infestation. It is much more effective to set up a large number of traps for a short period of time, rather than few traps for a long period of time.
If you want to know more about techniques for trapping mice, you should read this blog
Digital monitoring
Data provides transparency and like many other digital products, digital traps generate data, and data can be analyzed in many ways. It gives you an overview of the current situation, the history of activity and measures are taken previously, and a tool to analyze trends, usage, etc. With data you can look into:
- How many mice have been caught previously and where
- Total number of catches in a geographical area
- Whether you have to empty/or set up new traps
- Reaction time
- The necessary information in case of vacation or sickness
- Documentation towards the customer
With digital traps, technicians (PCO’s) can avoid waiting time checking bait boxes containing rodenticides and indicator blocks for bite marks, as the digital trap will tell when a mouse has been trapped. Moreover, technicians have better chances of planning the day according to the traps that have a catch, as they can get an overview of all digital traps on the phone or tablet.
What do customers request?
If you have a lot of experience within the pest control industry, none of the abovementioned information might surprise you, but have you thought about how the use of digital traps for mouse control can benefit your customers?
An increasing number of businesses and municipalities are asking for non-toxic rodent control, as eco-friendly actions and sustainability are on everyone’s agenda these days. With the increasing demand for citizens, businesses, and societies to be sustainable, the pest control industry is no exception. However, this is not to say that rodenticides and traditional snap traps cannot still be in your toolbox as PCO, but with digital traps on the market providing a complete overview of the status of traps, all tools may be used more effectively.
See our new digital mouse trap
If you want to meet the requests of your customers, you may want to consider switching partly or entirely to digital traps. Digital traps can help reduce the number of heavy infestations, by giving you an ‘early warning’ and alerting you to any activity. This allows for action be to taken before mice get the chance to breed and become a serious issue. The sooner the mice are caught, the better and with digital traps, you get to be one step ahead.
Sources:
- PCT – Online. (2020, march). https://www.pctonline.com/article/think-like-a-rodent/
- Pest Management UK. (2020, August). Investing in intelligent traps.
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